Index Page [<< Prev] [Next >>]

PaK 43/41 88mm Anti Tank Gun

From Handbook on German Military Forces, US War Department, TM-E 30-451, reprinted by  Louisiana State University Press, 1990, pg 343:

Caliber……………… ………….….88mm (3.46 inches)
Length of tube…………………. .…21 feet 7.25 inches.
Weight in action……… …….….….9660 pounds.
Muzzle velocity (AP 40)………… ...3705 feet per second.
Muzzle velocity (APCBC)……….…3280 feet per second.
Muzzle velocity (HE)…………….….2460 feet per second.
Muzzle velocity (hollow charge)…...1968 feet per second.
Traverse………………………….…56°.
Elevation……………………………-5° to + 38°.
Traction………………………….….Motor-drawn.

Projectile weights are: HE, 20.68 pounds; APCBC, 22.36 pounds:
AP 40, 16 pounds; hollow charge, 16.8 pounds.

At 1500 yards, the APCBC and AP 40 projectiles will penetrate
approximately 130 mm (5.12 inches) of homogeneous armor plate
at 30 degrees from normal.

……………………

It is of note that the only type of Allied battle tank in Normandy with more than
130 mm base armor was the Churchill Mk 7. M4 Sherman tanks had 76 mm
frontal armor.

 

Pictures taken at US Army War College, Carlisle, PA.